Peculiarities of work organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under martial law

Abstract

During the full-scale phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is a determining factor in ensuring national security, the efficiency of the entire power vertical, and in maintaining the governance of the state as a whole. The article analyzes the legal bases of the work organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under martial law, defines its essence and features, and substantiates the priority directions for improving the legal regulation of the parliament functioning during the full-scale phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It has been established that the work organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as the highest representative and single legislative body, must take into account all the risks and threats caused by the full-scale phase of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Today, the adaptation of the work organization of the parliament under martial law is insufficiently systematic and situational, characterized by the deepening of deviations in parliamentary practice and by-law regulation from the rules and procedures legally established by the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It is substantiated that solving problems and challenges in the activities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its bodies under martial law should be based on a balance between the effectiveness and safety of the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine vs its openness and compliance with existing parliamentary procedures. This primarily requires enshrining in the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the principles of the work organization of the parliament under martial law, guarantees of its safety and continuity, as well as the features of a more accelerated procedure for consideration and adoption of laws under martial law. It was emphasized that Ukraine faces the task not only of directly repelling a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, but also of protecting the foundations of its constitutional system, in particular, the values of national parliamentarism, which should not be neglected by measures established due to martial law.